>>> We have great resources from which to gather information, which is helpful not only to the rider, but to the horse! To see the horse going with the reins loose and not pulled into a frame is nice. It's important not only for us, but for our children, to learn from these many resources, to ride the horse in consideration of the horse.
Amen. It's so nice to be reminded that some riders who have competed at high levels (Jane in dressage, Lynn Palm in the AQHA Versatility championships, Stacy Westfall, a reining champion, Martha Josey who broke so many barriers in the QH world before most of our time...) understand these basics. I'll never compete, and I'll probably never have another "born for dressage" horse, but there are so much good basic riding skills to be learned from these people - skills that apply to the kind of riding that most of us do. And I keep going back to the name of Jane's good book - Cross Train Your Horse. In Jane's book, she quotes a couple of gaited horse trainers who use dressage as some of their foundation training, trotting their horses too - not at all unlike what Liz Graves teaches. It's not about dressage-as-an-end-goal, but about the practical benefits of some basic dressage principles - even though she herself has ridden to the Olympic level. Lynn Palm has also shown hunters, western pleasure, driving...and did those lovely bridleless demonstrations on Rugged Lark. I'll NEVER ride one of my Icelandics to that level, but I too enjoy being a "dabbler" - just at a much lower level. I get so darned tired of what I see promoted as "dressage" in Icelandic circles. I just haven't seen any riding of this caliber - focusing on the BASICS - from any Icelander clinicians. I don't know that I'd put Jane, Lynn or Stacy on a pedestal - I certainly am not saying that any of them are perfect. (Is any clinician...?) I don't know that I'll do everything like they do especially since my horses aren't built like theirs, I don't really have the same goals, etc. But, what I see in them are good, extremely competent riders who understand the folly of taking shortcuts - in riding, training, anything to do with our horses. They are certainly all great role models, and people we can all learn a lot from. The name of the event I attended was "Women Luv Horses" and frankly, the "luv" initially put me off - too cutesy for my tastes. I think now I see why though, after attending, and there was more to it than cutesiness. How often do we see a clinic that is ONLY led by prominent women? I like several of the Natural Horsemen, but I don't deny that I suspect that the popularity of some of them has more to do with some women's fantasies about big rugged cowboy types, even though some of them are quite good. Ironic, isn't it, that most of the riders in the USA are women, but most of the well-known trainers/clinicians are still men. That divide seems even more pronounced in the Icelandic World. If you get a chance to see any of these talented, insightful women, go. Splurge on one of their books or videos. Go see Liz Graves if you can - I plan to host her for a clinic again this fall. I'd love to see Linda Tellington Jones sometime. I sorely wish I could have seen Lee Ziegler before she died. I don't plan to boycott the good men trainers/clinicians, but by golly, I think more of our women clinicians need recognition too. BTW, cutesy or not, I ended up buying a powder pink hooded sweatshirt with "Women Luv Horses" embroidered on it.... Sometimes it's fun to eat your own words... :) Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
